Black Crowes Enthrall

Brothers Chris and Rich Robinson certainly never lost that special Black Crowes mojo.

The siblings from Atlanta thoroughly entertained a loud crowd of Black Crowes die-hard fans Wednesday night at the Landmark Theatre.

The fans had plenty to appreciate. Original drummer Steve Gorman set a formidable bottom line and turned in an ear-pleasing solo. Lead guitarist Paul Stacey ran through soaring Southern-fried blues-rock licks. Sven Pipien set a pleasing bass line, and keyboardist Rob Clores certainly sounded as if he'd been with the band for longer than he has. He replaced Eddie Hawrysch, midtour, just two weeks ago.

In fact, they all jammed together with what looked like a quite comfortable chemistry.

Of course, it was the brothers Robinson at the center of it all.

Long and lean Chris, looking just somewhat wider than his mike stand, stood tall front and center, oozing the front-man panache that helped make him a celebrity (who married, and recently separated from, fellow celebrity Kate Hudson, by the way). His voice appeared strong underneath a maddening sound mix that at times made it sound as if his lyrics were cloaked by a thick blanket.

When his voice and trademark circle dance weren't enough, he picked up his harmonica for added blues emphasis.

Guitar player Rich, meanwhile, ably served as musical band leader, pointing all band mates in the right direction. His voice was strong, too, particularly on his cover of Bob Dylan's classic "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry."

It was a big night for the Crowes to pay tribute to important bands.

They also turned in sweet covers of Manassas' "Song of Love," The Byrds' "You Don't Miss Your Water" and The Band's "Up on Cripple Creek."

The fans, covering a pretty wide range of ages, all seemed to savor that the Robinsons decided to reunite the Black Crowes in 2005 after a three-year hiatus. Standing through it all, they appeared enthralled by the older hits from the Black Crowes, like "Sting Me" and "Thorn in My Pride," as well as deeper cuts, "Cypress Tree" and "Young Man, Old Man."

Mark Bialczak can be reached at mbialczak@syracuse.com or 470-2175. His blog "Listen Up" is at www.syracuse.com/blogs/listenup.